A Day with Mother Naegi
by WiiFan2009
Summary: With Hana and Shingi Naegi both recovered from their coma and their house rebuilt, the Naegi matriarch takes her daugher-in-law to be Kyoko shopping for a wedding dress. Will they find the right dress? And will they continue to bond as mother and daughter?


A/N: Well, here's my next Danganronpa Gaiden entry, taking place a few weeks after "Naegi Family Reunion". Please read and review. Enjoy!

The Ultimate Hope and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: A Day with Mother Naegi

"Aah! It feels so good to be walking up and about again. It's so good to not be stuck in that stuffy hospital room! And for our house and personal belongings to be largely intact? We truly have been blessed, haven't we, Kyoko?"

The slender hand of Hana Naegi wrapped around that of her incoming daughter-in-law, Kyoko Kirigiri, who momentarily stiffened before telling herself to relax. She had long since grown used to, and treasured the feel of Makoto's hand in hers, but his relatives were a different story. She did indeed love Komaru, Hana, and Shingi, viewing them as her own family after they welcomed her with open arms almost automatically. But her aversion to physical contact outside of Makoto wasn't so easily dissipated.

_It's okay, Kyoko. They can touch you. They're Makoto's family, YOUR family, and they're not going to hurt you. You don't need to be afraid…_

Forcing herself to squeeze Hana's hand, Kyoko agreed "Yes, I suppose we are blessed…Mom."

Kyoko still marveled at how easy it was for the word "Mom" to roll off her tongue when talking to Hana.

_Fifteen years…it's been fifteen years since I ever thought I would call someone my Mom with such ease. I guess…growing up without a mother for so long, I wanted someone who I could once again call my mother…_ Looking back on her memories of meeting and bonding with Makoto's parents while she and Makoto dated before the Tragedy, as well as how easily she collapsed into Hana's arms and let the Naegi matriarch embrace and comfort her, Kyoko smiled.

_Makoto Naegi…thank you for giving me a true mother again! _"Although, I'm not sure Makoto was quite so happy at how much survived the Tragedy…"

After Hana and Shingi had recovered, Makoto and Kyoko immediately looked into the state of his former home. To their surprise, the structure was largely intact; windows were broken, and the doors looked blown off of their hinges, but the walls only suffered minor scratches, none of the rooms were caved in, the plumbing still worked. The vast majority of the damage to the home had been largely superficial, nothing a construction crew couldn't fix. And although much of the furniture had been destroyed, all of the Naegis' sentimental property was unscathed…including Makoto's baby pictures, much to the young man's dismay.

After seeing the reconstructed house themselves and finding the album, Hana squealed in joy before practically forcing the album in Kyoko's hands. Makoto sensed that fighting his mom on this was pointless, as she refused to budge when she brought up the idea the first time at the hospital, so he reluctantly let Kyoko take them. As Kyoko flipped through the pages, cooing over how cute Makoto was in diapers, a red-faced Makoto pouted the entire car ride home.

Smirking, Hana said "Well, it's a mother's job to embarrass their children every now and again. You'll understand once you and Makoto have your own children." At that moment, Hana looked to Kyoko and asked curiously "Have you two discussed children at all?"

Resting her chin in her hand as she thought about her answer, Kyoko at last replied "It's a little complicated. Makoto's mentioned having kids, and I've more or less told him I want to have his children. But we haven't really talked about how many we want, what genders we'd like, names…I think we both want to be married for a little bit before we actually try for children."

Kyoko looked away, afraid that maybe she had disappointed her new mother with their lack of planning on the subject. Hana meanwhile smiled warmly and wrapped her arm around Kyoko's waist, pulling her in for a half-hug.

"Every couple's different, Kyoko. Some people want every detail planned out to the letter, while some throw caution to the wind. If you and Makoto want to enjoy married life before getting pregnant, then that's completely fine. I don't mind waiting to become an obaa-chan!"

Hana giggled while Kyoko blushed. Before Kyoko could say anything further on the subject, Hana squealed and yanked Kyoko by the hand, dragging her daughter along.

"M…Mom! What's…"

"You'll see, Kyoko! I can't believe it's still in business!"

"O…Okay, Mom…"

XXX

*Pant, pant*

Kyoko struggled to catch her breath, having finally stopped once Hana had reached their destination.

_I see…*pant* where Makoto gets his boundless energy from!_ "So…" Kyoko looked up to see a small, white building with a black sign on it that read "Amerika Kekkon Doressu". "What is this place?"

Hana turned ot her new daughter, eyes sparkling as she gushed "It's a shop that sells wedding dresses. It's where my in-laws took me shopping for my wedding to Shingi. I can't believe they survived the Tragedy!"

Kyoko sweatdropped before walking toward the windows to inspect some of their material. Every mannequin was dressed in a fanciful white wedding dress with varying degrees of frills.

Kyoko frowned before commenting "They look rather…white…and fancy…"

Still in her own little world, Hana continued "I know! There's no style they don't carry! I'm sure we'll find the perfect dress to show off your elegance to Makoto on your wedding day, even if it takes us all night! Come on!"

As Hana ran towards the entrance, Kyoko yelled "WAIT, MOM!"

Kyoko's uncharacteristically urgent tone caused Hana to stop in her tracks, the mother turning to her daughter with a concerned expression on her face. Kyoko appeared pensive, as though struggling with herself as to whether to say her next thoughts.

"What is it, dear?"

Feeling Hana take her scarred hands into her own unblemished ones, Kyoko confessed "We're not…looking for elegant and fancy." Rambling before Hana could get an objection in, Kyoko explained "Makoto and I talked about it, and we agreed that we don't want a big fancy wedding. I dislike the spotlight and Makoto's really humble, and most of our friends and family aren't here anymore, so we agreed on a small, outdoors wedding where we wouldn't go overboard with dressing up. I'm sorry to have dashed your hopes like this, because I know Makoto said that you always wanted to plan his wedding and I want to make you and Dad happy too, but…"

"…Kyoko" Hana interrupted, making the former Detective clam up.

Hana smiled as she assured Kyoko "I'm not upset. You and Makoto have obviously put a lot of thought into your wedding already, and I'll admit I got more than a little carried away. I should have asked you what kind of dress **you** wanted to wear."

Taking this as her cue, Kyoko shyly answered "Well, I was thinking maybe a summer-type dress, since that's when we're planning to get married. And maybe it could be a green one…you know, to match his eyes?"

Smiling softly at her, Hana gently eased her hand into Kyoko's while assuring "Why don't we head to the local mall, then? I'm sure we can find something that suits you."

Kyoko smiled and acquiesced "I'd like that…let's go, Mom. We can grab some lunch while we're there from the food court."

Beaming, Hana cheered "That's the spirit! Come on!"

Hana once again dragged her new daughter along, but this time at a more leisurely pace, making Kyoko grateful that her soon-to-be mother-in-law was toning down her Naegi enthusiasm so that her son's future wife could be comfortable.

XXX

It was later that the two women were sitting in a mostly empty food court. It took some time, but they were able to find a summer dress that fit Kyoko's qualifications. The former Detective agreed to go back to Hana and Shingi's house afterwards to model the wedding attire. In the meantime, though, it was lying folded in a paper shopping bag while the two of them enjoyed some sushi.

Taking a sip of some cola, Hana curiously broached "By the way, I am curious…how did your hands get…you know? When Makoto brought you home for Christmas, I just assumed they were a fashion statement. But, they were to hide…"

"My burn scars, yes. Those gloves I wore were to hide my burn scars." At Hana's curious expression, Kyoko explained "I haven't even told Makoto the whole story behind my scars. He hasn't asked about it, and I haven't felt the need to bring it up. I did disclose however that they occurred a couple of years before I enrolled in Hope's Peak, when I was still learning to be a Detective. I was inexperienced at the time, and it taught me to be careful with handing out my trust. I wore those gloves to remind me of that so I wouldn't make the same mistake twice."

Nodding in understanding, Hana prodded "So…why haven't you been wearing them now? Ever since we woke up from our coma, we haven't seen you with your trademark gloves at all."

Smiling wistfully at the memory, Kyoko explained "After I proposed to Makoto and we moved into our first apartment together, he proposed the traditional way with my engagement ring. However, as luck would have it, he had one made that was just too small to fit over my gloves. Of course, we could have just gotten the ring resized, but he just looked so disappointed. I could tell how hard he had worked to return my proposal, and I just couldn't bear to see him look like a kicked puppy. So, I tossed my gloves into our fireplace and had him put the ring on my finger again. It was a perfect fit."

Beaming at the romantic retelling, Hana mused "You must really love him, to expose your scars to everyone like that…"

Nodding, Kyoko affirmed with a serious expression "It hasn't been easy. During the first few weeks of our engagement, I kept reaching for gloves in the morning that no longer existed out of reflex, and whenever we were in public places, I kept feeling the urge to hide them in my pockets. But one look at Makoto or one touch from his hand and everything just felt right. Eventually I felt comfortable enough that I had no qualms about people seeing my scars…or of me seeing them. I told Makoto that I wanted to show off to the world how much I love him, and in the end exposing my scars in the process was a small price to pay."

Hana smiled, tears in her eyes after hearing such a touching story. Wiping her eyes, she took one last sip of cola before taking her and Kyoko's empty trays and suggesting "Now, how about we go back home? I wanna see you really try on your wedding dress."

Nodding, Kyoko followed her as they left the mall, dress in hand as both daydreamed of Kyoko standing next to Makoto in matrimony.

XXX

Kyoko did a single twirl, her long hair tied into a ponytail as a forest green, sleeveless dress that stopped just above her knees decorated with images of cherry blossoms spun with her body. Hana clapped and squealed, obviously taken with Kyoko's choice in apparel.

"Kyoko, you look absolutely stunning; you definitely have great taste in fashion!" Kyoko blushed, silently happy at being praised by her soon-to-be mother, before Hana continued gushing "Oh, Makoto's going to just adore you during the ceremony! My little boy is going to marry the cutest, sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful woman ever brought into this world!"

At that last sentence, Kyoko felt her heart start to crack, and crack, and crack with each clause until she could no longer hold back her silent tears. Hana looked up in shock, horrified and confused at Kyoko's complete 180.

"Kyoko, what's wrong? Did you not like the dress after all? It's okay; I still have the receipt! We can go back and get a different one…"

Shaking her head and wiping her tears with her wrist, Kyoko sniffled "It's… it's not the dress. It's beautiful, like a dream come true. It's just…" Kyoko sighed and collapsed on the sofa next to Hana before she looked at her and inquired "How much…did Makoto tell you…about our imprisonment?"

Frowning, Hana confessed "…Not much. He was pretty tight lipped about the incident. All he said was that Junko erased your memories to trap you into a killing game, and that a lot of your class died before he was able to defeat Junko with your help."

_…Of course he refuses to paint me in even a remotely negative light…_ Kyoko sighed and started "Well, there's a little more to the story. Something that you deserve to know…before we get married…"

Frowning in confusion, Hana nonetheless nodded her consent, making Kyoko take a deep breath before beginning her summary.

"After we finished the fourth Class Trial, to solve the mystery of our friend Sakura Ogami's death, I had started to get closer to the truth of Junko's identity. Too close as it turned out. I had become too much of a thorn in her side for her to stay neutral any longer. So, she hatched a plan to murder Makoto in his sleep and pin the crime on me."

Hana gasped, her heart clenching as the image of her baby boy dead in his bed flashed in her mind.

"Fortunately, I intervened in the nick of time, forcing Junko to retreat." As Hana opened her mouth to express gratitude towards Kyoko, she interrupted "Don't thank me. This story's far from finished." Hana clamped her mouth shut leaving Kyoko to continue "Makoto was still alive, but Junko's plan was far from finished. As a backup, she planted her deceased sister Mukuro's corpse to accomplish the same end. Another Class Trial had begun, and everyone but me and Makoto had alibis. And Makoto…"

At this, Kyoko began to sob, making Hana reach and grasp her hands, trying to instill some measure of comfort to her daughter.

"Makoto let himself be found as the blackened. Our memories were still suppressed, so even though our mutual affection had been rekindled to some degree, I still wasn't aware **how much** I loved him. And so…I did everything I could to survive. I did everything I could to throw suspicion off of me, even…pointing the finger at him. Even…voting for him. Makoto was willing to die to protect me, and I hadn't been willing to do the same for him!"

Hana stared in shock at the tale her sobbing daughter had just told her. She had no idea that her beloved son and daughter had been forced into such an awful choice.

"If it wasn't for a virus planted by our deceased classmate Chihiro, Makoto would be dead, and we never would have gotten out of there. You said that I was sweet, kind, and thoughtful." Shaking her head furiously, Kyoko retorted "Nothing could have been further from the truth back then. I may have rescued him after the fact, I may have sworn to protect him after we got out, I may have even risked laying down my life to protect his in a similarly sticky situation, but that doesn't change the fact that I abandoned him when he needed me!"

"Kyoko…" Hana tried to interrupt, but Kyoko shook her head.

"I still don't understand why he doesn't hate me. He **should **hate me! **You** should hate me for leaving your son to almost die! I don't deserve to be called your daughter, Naegi-san!"

Kyoko continued to blubber incoherently as she hung her head in shame of her past. Hana stared at her, eyes widened in shock, but without a hint of malice or disdain.

"Come here, darling…"

Hana wrapped her arms around Kyoko's torso, somehow pulling the grown woman onto her lap. Kyoko practically latched on, desperate for the Naegi matriarch's affection despite her prior words as she buried her head against Hana's shoulder.

Running her hand down Kyoko's back, Hana soothed "My darling Kyoko. It's okay, it's okay. I don't hate you. Dad doesn't hate you. Komaru doesn't hate you. And Makoto certainly doesn't hate you."

"…Why not?" Kyoko's muffled voice vibrated from Hana's shoulder, still dripping with doubt.

Hana merely stroked her hair as she explained "Because as much as your upbringing may have taught you otherwise, you're allowed to feel scared. Anyone would be scared, being trapped in that nightmare. Nobody would have blamed you for acting out of self-preservation. You're human, Kyoko, and it's just human nature to be afraid, and to act out of fear."

"…Makoto didn't. Even when faced with certain death, he never wavered in his resolve to protect me."

Hana squeezed her tighter, silently proud of her son before countering "We both know that Makoto's one of a kind; he's special. You don't need to hold yourself to such a high pedestal, Kyoko. I don't think Makoto would want you to keep kicking yourself like this…" A light bulb of realization went off in Hana's brain before she asked, "Have you talked about this with Makoto at all?"

Kyoko bit her lip in thought before answering "A little. We both talked a little about our insecurities when we got engaged, but afterwards we more or less came to an unspoken accord to not speak about it if we could help it."

"Well, in that case it might be helpful to talk about it more. Let him know how you feel a little more often, even if it means crying a little. Makoto told me a little about the dynamic of your relationship. He couldn't stop talking about how strong you were, how you held him and comforted him whenever he had a bad dream, how you always managed to build his confidence back up."

Kyoko blushed; although Makoto had passionately declared on multiple occasions how much he admired and adored her, it was another matter to hear of him saying it to his mother.

_He…he really said all that?_

"But you don't have to be strong one all the time, Kyoko. Let Makoto be the one to hold you too. Cry in his shoulder whenever you feel distressed or frightened. Be a little more open with your husband, Kyoko. Besides, if I know my son, he'll just be kicking himself for not seeing your pain sooner, and he won't hesitate to put himself down, thinking he's a horrendous husband for not being there for his wife when she really needed him."

Kyoko clenched her fists, angry with herself for potentially letting the bond between her and her fiancé fray and weaken through her unwillingness to burden him with her self-criticism.

"…Okay. I'll…try to be a little more open. I'm not sure I can be quite as much of an open book as Makoto, but I'll try."

Hana smiled; that was enough for now. If they needed her to intervene later on, she of course would happily do so to save her son and daughter's marriage. For now, though, she was content to hold her daughter in her lap, rubbing her back as though to sweep away all of her insecurities and guilt.

XXX

Makoto hummed absentmindedly; having donned an apron he was cooking a shrimp and broccoli stir fry for his fiancée when she got home from shopping with his mother. He dared not to even daydream about what she had picked, wanting to be completely surprised on his wedding day.

_I'm sure whatever she picked will be amazing!_

It was then that he heard the door to their apartment open, the familiar clickety-clack of her boots reaching his ears. A smile spreading across his face, Makoto quickly scooped the stir-fry out on two plates in their kitchen before waling out into their living room to greet her.

"Hi honey! Did you have a good time with Mom? I made us some stir-fry for dinner tonight!"

Kyoko silently teared up, confusing and worrying her husband before she smiled, closing the distance between them and embracing her beloved, nuzzling her head against his chest in the process.

Chuckling at the display before him, Makoto returned her embrace, patting her head and commenting "You seem unusually affectionate today. I take it you had a good time shopping with Mom?"

"…Yes. She gave me a lot to think about…" Kyoko lifted her head from his chest and asked shyly "Makoto…do you ever feel like I'm not open with you? Do you ever wish I was mor e open about my feelings and my fears with you?"

His eyebrows raised in confusion at the sudden question, Makoto scratched his cheek and replied "Well…I do want you to feel like you can talk to me about anything…but I know from experience that you don't always like being my kind of open with people. So I don't mind waiting until you're ready to talk about things…What brought this on?"

"…Mom and I had a chance to talk after we went shopping…and she made me realize that I had always tried to be the strong one in our relationship; I hardly ever let you be my shoulder to cry on. I shouldn't internalize my emotions so much, at least not around my own husband." Kyoko sniffled before finishing "So…I'm gonna try to be more open about my feelings and my insecurities with you. I don't know if I'll ever be as much of an open book as you, but I'll at least try not to keep you in the dark anymore."

Makoto smiled, stroking his fiancée's hair as he assured her "If that's what you want. Just go at your own pace with this, okay? I'm not gonna force you to change who you are for me, okay?"

Nodding, Kyoko assured him "Thank you, but I do want to be more open with you. Starting right now." Kyoko looked towards the kitchen before looking back to Makoto and telling him "I do appreciate the fact that you cooked us dinner, and I'm sure I'll appreciate the stir-fry later tonight, but right now I want to eat something else."

That last clause was spoken with an uncharacteristic amount of lust as she grabbed Makoto by the straps of his apron and pulled him down to meet her. Her lips covered his in an initially soft kiss, before they moved more hungrily as she forced her tongue between his lips, lashing her tongue against his. Makoto could only moan, closing his eyes as he completely submitted to Kyoko's dominancy. Stepping out of her heels, Kyoko gently used the straps of his apron as leverage, gently but forcefully pushing him backwards, causing him to stumble back as Kyoko followed him, never breaking their ravenous kiss. They eventually stumbled into their bedroom, Kyoko using one foot to kick the door shut behind her as she pushed them both onto their shared bed, preparing to open herself fully and completely to the man of her dreams for the first time since their memory loss.


End file.
